Stopping at stoplights is a fascinating experience. You're cruising along and then all of a sudden, stop. An interruption in your day. It is an inevitable experience when driving and yet it always feels as if you are forced to stop against your well. And people use stoplights differently. Stereotypical traffic light activities are eating, drinking and putting on makeup. One activity I have recently acquired is playing with my son or giving him food or water. The most fascinating thing I have ever seen was a man practicing his trumpet. You can just imagine the thoughts going through his head, "I'm not gonna let these lights cause me to miss my time practicing".
Frequently I daydream. I look at the people in the cars around me. The only thing in common between us is this particular stop light. In those people's faces are all kinds of emotions displayed. The focused eyes and set jaws, I imagine that she needs to get twenty things done in the next hour. The oblivious head tilting is indicative that the man is obviously enjoying his phone conversation more than driving. Occasionally I see someone in tears. This is powerful and moving. I don't know what caused those tears in the woman's eyes, but something has touched her deeply. That knowledge causes me to enter into my own meditation. I mummer quick prayer of thanksgiving for all that his been done for me and ask for consolation for the woman crying. It is then while stopped at that light, offering the only thing I could for someone, I don't and can't possibly know, that the stoplight becomes a moment of contemplation. The heart is somehow left exposed, and it is overwhelmed by the goodness of God.
This practice of daydreaming has, I think, made me a more peaceful driver. Having those little insights into the lives of those others on the road (whether the insights are real or imagined) turns a totally impersonal encounter into some small encounter with the other.
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